A FORMER factory worker dying from asbestos related cancer is suing a company for £150,000.

A FORMER factory worker dying from asbestos related cancer is suing a company for £150,000.

James Hall, 63, is suffering from mesothelioma, an illness triggered by exposure to asbestos.

Mr Hall, a great-grandfather, believes he developed the disease in 1958 when he worked for LN Whiteley and Sons Ltd, a loft insulation company then based in Hyde.

His wife Sandra, of Drovers Walk, Glosssop said: "Jim worked with his friends as a lagger, mixing and applying asbestos lagging to pipework and boilers.

"He ripped open sacks of dry asbestos and smoothed asbestos onto pipework and boilers using his bare hands.

"Asbestos was lying around like talcum powder on the factory floor and was swept up at the end of the day. He was not made to wear a mask or anything."

Mrs Hall said her husband's symptoms first became apparent in April 2005 when he started feeling unusually lethargic.

A few months later, while out on a short walk with the dog, he came back complaining of breathlessness.

She drove him straight to the doctor's surgery, who referred him to Tameside Hospital.

Mr Hall, who now can barely make it down to the shops, is taking his former employer to court for alleged negligence.

The legal writ filed with the High Court alleges 34 alleged breaches by the company. These include alleged breaches to the Factories Act 1937 and the Asbestos Industry Regulations 1931, which both applied at that time.

Mrs Hall, a former office worker, now cares for her husband full time. He needs daily doses of morphine for pain relief, and his many symptoms include severe breathlessness, profuse sweating and loss of weight.

"Our lives are ompletely in limbo. There is no cure for the disease and doctors don't know how long James has left," she said.

She said the couple can't go on holiday as Mr Hall is not well enough.

Mrs Hall added: said: "If we win the court action, we are hoping to put the money towards making Jim's life a bit easier.

"But the money does not compensate us for loss of life - no money in the world can bring back my Jim's good health."